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Jerry Quarry
|birth_place=Bakersfield, California |death_date= |death_place= |style=Orthodox |total=66 |wins=53 |losses=9 |draws=4 |no contests=0 |KO=32 ||image = jerryquarry.jpg}} Jerry Quarry (May 15, 1945 - January 3, 1999), nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, from 1968–1971, during the peak of his career. Overview Quarry was a durable and smart counter-puncher/action fighter. At times he even moved around the ring in an Ali fashion. He had fast hands, an excellent left hook, and punched well with both hands. He also had a remarkable chin and was always courageous. His major flaw was a tendency to cut easily and having the bad luck to box in the era of Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Patterson and Norton. He was six feet (1.83 metres) tall and weighed 195-pounds (88 kilograms) in his prime, which whilst comparable to many heavyweight boxers then, still put him on the slightly smaller side of the division. He would today be considered cruiser-weight. He was the most visible of a significant fighting family, which included three other pro boxers (his father and two brothers). Quarry's father first put gloves on his son at five years. His career, he felt, was decided for him at a very young age. Boxing career Emergence Quarry came to notice by winning the 1965 National Golden Gloves championship in Kansas City at age 19. He knocked out each of his five opponents, a feat unmatched before or since. Quarry began his pro career in March 1965, winning a decision against Gene Hamilton in Los Angeles, California. 1960s Quarry's first loss came against veteran and former contender Eddie Machen in 1966, which was his twenty-first fight within two full years as a pro. In mid-1967, the (World Boxing Association) (W.B.A.) held a tournament to replace Muhammad Ali a heavyweight champion, who had been stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military. Quarry had three convincing wins early in that year to improve his ranking, but also had a draw with former champion Floyd Patterson. Title match v Ellis In any case, Quarry was named to the eight-man tournament field. He defeated Patterson in their rematch with multiple knockdowns, and then defeated ranked tournament favorite Thad Spencer, which brought him to national attention. In the tournament final, Jimmy Ellis defeated Quarry on a split decision to become the new WBA Heavyweight Champion Of The World. Quarry was later stung by criticism that the match was considered dull, and this was allegedly this what made him decide to trade with Frazier for the next title shot. Title match v Joe Frazier Quarry, 22 years old and still popular, mounted a comeback and had four straight wins. In 1969, Quarry beat contender Buster Mathis. He was then given a title shot by Joe Frazier for Frazier's WBA title. Quarry lost the fight on cuts via a seventh-round technical knockout despite leading in the early rounds. The high-action match was called Ring Magazine's Fight of The Year. Quarry's toughness impressed many, taking Frazier's best punches without a knockdown. Other matches, Chuvalo Quarry returned to win two more fights that year, before a loss to Canadian George Chuvalo. After getting up quickly from a knockdown at the count of four, Quarry went back to one knee and didn't stand again until the count of 10, and was therefore counted out, officially a knockout under the rules of boxing. At the time, Quarry was well ahead on the three judges' scorecards. Former Harlem Globetrotter Zack Clayton was the referee. Early 1970s Foster & Ali (1) Quarry had two wins in early 1970 before being matched with the big hitting and undefeated #1 ranked contender Mac Foster (24-0-0, 24 knockouts). Quarry, weighing 196, impressed boxing fans with a sound KO win. It returned him to contention, and it remains one of the peak wins of his career. Later he would fight Muhammad Ali n Atlanta, who was making his return to boxing in October 1970 after a 3 year exile. Quarry, it was rumoured, was the only ranked heavyweight willing to meet the former champion. The first two rounds were competitive, before Ali opened a deep cut over Quarry's left eye. His corner stopped the fight at the end of the 3rd. Quarry then had four straight wins, and also pursued acting and various business ventures. In November 1971, he went to London, England and fought the British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion, Jack Bodell. Quarry defeated the British Champion in 61 seconds of the first round to the cheers of Irishmen in the crowd. He was 26 years old and a millionaire despite never having been world heavyweight champion. The second Ali match In 1972, Quarry added two more wins before getting his rematch with Ali. He was ranked #2 at fight time. The match was part of a racially motivated 'Soul Brothers versus the Quarry Brothers' event promoted by Don King, which included his brother Mike Quarry fighting Bob Foster for the world light-heavyweight title. Jerry went into the fight after watching his brother Mike get KO'd and being on his back for five minutes. In the opening round, Quarry tried to intimidate Ali by lifting him off the canvas in an early clinch. Nevertheless, Ali dominated the fight before it was stopped in the seventh round. Quarry, now managed by Gil Clancy, again bounced back to have perhaps his best year in 1973. Quarry soundly defeated ranked contenders Ron Lyle (19-0-0,17 knockouts) and Earnie Shavers (45-2-0, 44 knockouts) that year at Madison Square Garden. The first was a dominant decision over twelve rounds, the later a stunning 1st Round TKO. Champion George Foreman, a Quarry fan, later claimed that he dodged Quarry throughout his career, although nowadays Foreman has claimed to have avoided or tried to avoid a number of other fighters, including Joe Frazier and Ken Norton.http://www.georgeforeman.com/puncher_nontitle.php Frazier rematch Disappointed that a title shot against Foreman in 1974 would not materialize, Quarry tried hard to get contending fights against Don King fighters, but could not get contracts signed. He had one more win before meeting Joe Frazier, one of the few willing to meet him, for the rematch which many expected years earlier. For this one, Quarry tried to out-box Frazier, and scored well early in the opening rounds. Quarry, weighing 204, then began to fade under Frazier's heavy pressure. At the end of the 4th round, it appeared Frazier knocked down Quarry with a left hook to the body just after the bell. Quarry was visibly injured by the body punch, but tried to continue. The fight was then stopped quickly in the 5th round when it was obvious he couldn't continue. Former heavyweight champion Joe Louis was the referee for the bout, and looked very unsure on how to handle the proceedings. Joe Louis never refereed another fight.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1088722/index.htm 1975 Ken Norton In 1975, launching yet another comeback, Quarry had one win while being dodged by many potential opponents. However, Ken Norton signed up in April of that year, as two other opponents had backed out and Quarry was the second alternate. Quarry gave another determined effort, and hurt Norton in the furious all out 3rd, while bleeding from a cut. But Norton hung on, and launched a powerful and decisive counterattack to later win by the referee stopping the contest as ringsiders had started calling for a halt to prevent further punishment. Retirement This concluded his prime years, and Quarry basically retired, having had many wars before the age of 30. Quarry was 50-8-4 at this time, with 32 KOs. He had two losses each to Frazier and Ali plus one apiece to Norton, Chuvalo, Ellis and Machen. He had been ranked as high as the #1 contender and won most of his matches while weighing under 200 pounds. Quarry, who had acted in various programs on ABC to this point, including ' Batman ', ' Adam-12 ', ' I Dream Of Jeannie ' and ' The Six Million Dollar Man ', also did boxing commentary for ABC's "Wide World Of Sports." An excellent athlete, Quarry made the event Finals in 'The Superstarts' competition in 1974, going against many NFL stars. His performance that year is still the highest score of any boxer in the history of the long-running contest. Comeback win 1977 In November 1977, on a comeback start, Jerry fought seven losing rounds against the fast but light hitting Italian European Champion Lorenzo Zanon before a star-studded Las Vegas crowd, until his left hook turned the tables and knocked Zanon out in the ninth round. Following the fight, Quarry stated he was rusty and merely needed to fight his way back into shape. However he decided to retire again, this time for five years. 1980s Quarry could not remain retired, since he had been married three times and fell victim to several failed business ventures. With few other opportunities, he decided once again to climb into the ring in 1983. Now 37, and training for his latest comeback, he was visited by a Sports Illustrated reporter who was researching an article about health problems among retired boxers, especially among those who started as child boxers. Although Quarry appeared to be in good health, his performance on several simple cognitive tests was shockingly poor.Boyle, Robert H., "Too Many Punches, Too Little Concern", Sports Illustrated, April 11, 1983. Article dated 1983-04-11, retrieved 2009-02-13. This was the harbinger for the mental decline that destroyed the last part of his life - dementia pugilistica, the atrophy of the brain from repeated blows to the head, eventually leading to an Alzheimer's-like state. The 1990s final comeback Quarry had two wins in 1983, but the fights appeared to accelerate his mental decline. He was inactive as a boxer from 1984 to 1992, but continued to decline physically and mentally. His $5-million fortune evaporated and by 1990 Quarry was on social security. Denied a boxing license in most states because of his condition, Quarry found a loophole in Colorado that allowed him to schedule an October 30, 1992 bout with Ron Cramner, a cruiserweight 16 years Quarry's junior. At the age of 47 years and 6 months old, Quarry provided nothing more than a 6 round punching bag for the younger fighter, losing all six rounds and the decision. Only Quarry's courage and great chin let him last the full 6 rounds. Quarry was never the same after that fight. Physical and mental decline Within a few years, Quarry was unable to feed or dress himself and had to be cared for by relatives, mainly his brother James - the only one of the four Quarry brothers not to box professionally. Jerry's brother, Mike, who had contended for the light-heavyweight championship, was himself disabled by pugilistic dementia in later life and died as a result on June 11, 2006. Another brother, Bobby, suffers from Parkinson's disease, believed to be the result of his own, less-heralded heavyweight boxing career. Hall of fame and death Jerry Quarry was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1995. He attended the ceremony with the help of one of his brothers but as a TV documentary showed he seemed barely aware of the events, the dementia already being severe. His professional record was 53-9-4 with 32 KOs. He had been lauded by countless younger boxing stars as a true star of the sport and an inspiration. Said Joe Frazier: "A very tough man. He could have been a world champion, but cut too easily." His brothers Mike Quarry (deceased) and Bobby Quarry also were pro boxers. Mike lost to Bob Foster by knockout for the world light heavyweight title in 1972, but defeated several top light-heavyweights including Mike Rossman. Bobby fought 23 times as a professional heavyweight, once losing to high-ranked 1990's contender Tommy Morrison. Quarry was hospitalized with pneumonia on December 28, 1998 and then suffered cardiac arrest. He never regained consciousness and died on January 3, 1999. He is interred at Shafter Cemetery in Shafter, California. A foundation was established in his honor to battle boxing-related dementia, a condition that has afflicted many boxers and brought Quarry's life to an early end. Years later, Quarry still has a loyal legion of fans. Professional boxing record |- |align="center" colspan=8|'53 Wins' (32 knockouts, 11 decisions), 9 Losses (6 knockouts, 3 decision), 4 Draws http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9385&cat=boxer |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Result' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Record' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Opponent' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Type' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Round' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Date' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Location' | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|'Notes' |-align=center | Loss |53-9-4 |align=left| Ron Cranmer |UD |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |53-8-4 |align=left| James Williams |MD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |52-8-4 |align=left| Lupe Guerra |TKO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |51-8-4 |align=left| Lorenzo Zanon |TKO |9 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |50-8-4 |align=left| Ken Norton |TKO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |50-7-4 |align=left| George Johnson |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |49-7-4 |align=left| Joe Frazier |TKO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |49-6-4 |align=left| Joe Alexander |KO |2 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |48-6-4 |align=left| Earnie Shavers |TKO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |47-6-4 |align=left| Tony Doyle |TKO |4 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |46-6-4 |align=left| James J Woody |TKO |2 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |45-6-4 |align=left| Ron Lyle |UD |12 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |44-6-4 |align=left| Randy Neumann |TKO |7 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |43-6-4 |align=left| Muhammad Ali |TKO |7 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |43-5-4 |align=left| Larry Middleton |PTS |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |42-5-4 |align=left| Eduardo Corletti |KO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |41-5-4 |align=left| Lou Bailey |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |40-5-4 |align=left| Jack Bodell |KO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |39-5-4 |align=left| Tony Doyle |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |38-5-4 |align=left| Dick Gosha |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |37-5-4 |align=left| Muhammad Ali |TKO |3 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |37-4-4 |align=left| Stamford Harris |TKO |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |36-4-4 |align=left| Mac Foster |KO |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |35-4-4 |align=left| George Johnson |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |34-4-4 |align=left| Rufus Brassell |KO |2 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |33-4-4 |align=left| George Chuvalo |KO |7 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |33-3-4 |align=left| Brian London |KO |2 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |32-3-4 |align=left| Johnny Carroll |KO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |31-3-4 |align=left| Joe Frazier |TKO |7 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |31-2-4 |align=left| Buster Mathis |UD |12 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |30-2-4 |align=left| Aaron Eastling |TKO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |29-2-4 |align=left| Charlie Reno |TKO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |28-2-4 |align=left| Willis Earls |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |27-2-4 |align=left| Bob Mumford |TKO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |26-2-4 |align=left| Jimmy Ellis |MD |15 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |26-1-4 |align=left| Thad Spencer |TKO |12 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |25-1-4 |align=left| Floyd Patterson |MD |12 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |24-1-4 |align=left| Billy Daniels |KO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center |style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw |23-1-4 |align=left| Floyd Patterson |MD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |23-1-3 |align=left| Alex Miteff |KO |3 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |22-1-3 |align=left| Brian London |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |21-1-3 |align=left| Memphis Al Jones |KO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |20-1-3 |align=left| Joey Orbillo |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |19-1-3 |align=left| Leslie Borden |KO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |18-1-3 |align=left| Bill Nielsen |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Loss |17-1-3 |align=left| Eddie Machen |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center |style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw |17-0-3 |align=left| Tony Alongi |PTS |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |17-0-2 |align=left| Memphis Al Jones |UD |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |16-0-2 |align=left| George Johnson |TKO |2 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center |style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw |15-0-2 |align=left| Tony Alongi |PTS |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |15-0-1 |align=left| Prentice Snipes |KO |5 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |14-0-1 |align=left| Eddie Land |UD |8 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |13-0-1 |align=left| Roy Crear |TKO |3 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center |style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw |12-0-1 |align=left| Tony Doyle |PTS |10 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |12–0 |align=left| Roy Crear |TKO |3 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |11–0 |align=left| Al Carter |TKO |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |10–0 |align=left| Milton Manley |KO |1 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |9–0 |align=left| Ray Junior Ellis |KO |3 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |8–0 |align=left| John Henry Jackson |PTS |8 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |7–0 |align=left| JP Spencer |TKO |4 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |6–0 |align=left| Ray Junior Ellis |UD |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |5–0 |align=left| Willie Davis |KO |3 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |4–0 |align=left| Dave Centi |UD |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |3–0 |align=left| Lance Holmberg |PTS |6 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |2–0 |align=left| John Henry Jackson |KO |4 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center | Win |1–0 |align=left| Gene Hamilton |PTS |4 | |align=left| |align=left| |-align=center References External links * *Jerry Quarry Foundation web site *The Boxing Brothers *Find-A-Grave profile for Jerry Quarry *"pressure doesn't psych me" quote at Merriam-Webster *Boxer Jerry Quarry Remembered Category:1945 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Heavyweight boxers Category:American people of Irish descent Category:National Golden Gloves champions Category:People from Bakersfield, California Category:Boxing commentators